Table of Contents

This study is provided by ICPSR.
ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis
for a diverse and expanding social science research community.

State Party Organizations, 1960-1980: [United States] (ICPSR 8281)

Principal Investigator(s):
Cotter, Cornelius P.

Summary:

This two-part data collection examines the complex role of
party organizational strength in electoral politics. Major areas of
inquiry were the conceptualization, measurement, and identification of
the determinants and consequences of party organizational strength at
state and county levels. Responses were gathered from mailed
questionnaires and personal interviews with various state party
officials. Part 1 contains data collected from former Republican and
Democratic state party chairs (1960-1978) in the 27 sample states of
the data collection. In addition, questionnaires were sent to current
state party chairs (1978-1980) in nonsample states. Topics covered
include: the factors and motives leading the respondent to seek and
accept the chairmanship, budgetary data for typical election and
non-election years, an assessment of the state party organization's
relationship with county party organizations, and the frequency of the
state party's dealings with the National Committee on party matters
such as fund-raising, gaining assistance for state candidates, and
federal appointments and patronage. Part 2 contains results from
personal interviews with both the current state party chairs
(1978-1980) and the executive director for each party in the 27 sample
states. As in Part 1, respondents were questioned on a variety of
issues such as their party's relationship with the National Committee,
an assessment of the most important aspects of their job as chairman,
and the state party's role in recruiting and screening candidates for
state and national positions. Additionally, the executive director for
each party was asked a series of questions concerning the operation and
strength of the party. Items in the series included a description of
the party headquarters, services provided by the party such as public
relations or issue research, and sources of funding.

This two-part data collection examines the complex role of
party organizational strength in electoral politics. Major areas of
inquiry were the conceptualization, measurement, and identification of
the determinants and consequences of party organizational strength at
state and county levels. Responses were gathered from mailed
questionnaires and personal interviews with various state party
officials. Part 1 contains data collected from former Republican and
Democratic state party chairs (1960-1978) in the 27 sample states of
the data collection. In addition, questionnaires were sent to current
state party chairs (1978-1980) in nonsample states. Topics covered
include: the factors and motives leading the respondent to seek and
accept the chairmanship, budgetary data for typical election and
non-election years, an assessment of the state party organization's
relationship with county party organizations, and the frequency of the
state party's dealings with the National Committee on party matters
such as fund-raising, gaining assistance for state candidates, and
federal appointments and patronage. Part 2 contains results from
personal interviews with both the current state party chairs
(1978-1980) and the executive director for each party in the 27 sample
states. As in Part 1, respondents were questioned on a variety of
issues such as their party's relationship with the National Committee,
an assessment of the most important aspects of their job as chairman,
and the state party's role in recruiting and screening candidates for
state and national positions. Additionally, the executive director for
each party was asked a series of questions concerning the operation and
strength of the party. Items in the series included a description of
the party headquarters, services provided by the party such as public
relations or issue research, and sources of funding.

Access Notes

Data in this collection are available only to users at ICPSR member institutions.
Please log in so we can determine if you are with a member institution and have
access to these data files.

Scope of Study

Universe:
All state party chairs in the United States and executive
directors in sample states.

Data Type(s):
survey data

Data Collection Notes:

1)Many questions included in the personal interviews
(Part 2) were similar to items on the mailed questionnaires (Part 1).
When this occurred, data from Part 2 were merged into Part 1. 2) The codebook is provided by ICPSR as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.

Methodology

Sample:
A systematic (non-random), stratified sampling procedure
was employed to maximize variation in the political environments and in
the levels of strength of state parties.